The City could get a much-needed boost as €5bn Greek energy firm Mytilineos set out plans to consider moving its stock listing from Athens to an international exchange, and the London Stock Exchange is the front runner.
Mytilineos currently sells its shares in Athens, where it is the seventh-largest listed business. But today the energy giant, which employs 6,500 people worldwide, launched a strategic review on how to “drive value” for shareholders.
The review, it said, could result in a change in where the business is listed. It singled out the London Stock Exchange as a possible new destination, and the Standard understands that it is highly likely to choose the City.
If Mytilineos does list in London, it is likely to be a primary listing, meaning the business - with a €5.2 billion market cap - would enter the FTSE 100. It would keep a secondary listing in its home country.
It would be the first newly listed firm to immediately join London’s top flight since Deliveroo’s blockbuster IPO in 2021.
Mytilineos said a new listing outside of Greece could take place over the next 12-18 months.
The proposed new listing could help to reverse the fortunes of the London Stock Exchange, which has lost a number of big names recently to buyouts and listings abroad. Betting giant Flutter and building materials firm CRH are among those moving their listings to the US, while businesses like Dechra Pharmaceuticals and DS Smith have been bought out, either by listed rivals or private equity firms.
Sentiment in London has improved in recent days, as the FTSE 100 surged to new records, after lagging behind rivals for most of the year.
Though based in Greece, Mytilineos has a notable presence in the UK energy sector. It is building 373MW Cleve Hill Solar Park, currently the UK’s largest consented solar project, as well as Eastern Green Link 1 project for National Grid.
The business was founded by Evangelos Mytilineos, who remains its chairman and CEO. He owns about a quarter of its shares.
